In the Beginning....There Was a Horse. (Chapter 1)

I'm changing the name of my blog. I was trying to come up with a name that would incorporate all of my favorite things, but "Smiling Yoga Cowgirl I Love Food And Martinis So MUCH Why Can't I Lose Weight?!" Doesn't have the right ring to it. It doesn't exactly roll off the tongue. I also decided to change the focus from weight loss/fitness (ha ha ha to that anyway!) and food (I will probably still talk about food, I can't help it!) to my horsemanship journey.

What is my horsemanship journey? Well, to be quite specific: The Making of A Californio Vaquero Style Bridle Horse.

What's that, you ask?

Here is a fairly succinct, easy to read article on the origins of the California Vaquero Bridle Horse. Keep in mind that today's competitive "reined cow horse" has little in common with the historic Vaquero trained bridle horse from a time long forgotten by many but the most passionate of cowboy historians.

A horse trained in the Vaquero tradition of old probably wouldn't stand a chance competing against today's reined cow horse in the modern show pen. But that isn't the point of it anyway. (see the HISTORY section in the link below)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reined_cow_horse

Now why would someone like me - a middle aged, suburban Volvo driving wife and mom, with no horse training experience other than banging around on my old horse as a kid, end up choosing this particular and decidedly "old-timey" path? Especially with a horse like mine, who is clearly not a ranch-type horse. She's a great trail horse, don't get me wrong. But she's the wrong horse for the job, as they say. Well, that is a story for another day, but I'll just leave you with this for now: I didn't choose this path, and I certainly didn't choose the horse who is walking it with me. They both chose me. More on that in a future chapter!

Honestly, I don't really know how far we'll get, or if we're any good at any of it at all! There have been many days I've almost given up. I have seen the futility in it, the insanity of it. We have so many obstacles. So. Many. Obstacles. But as many on this journey well know - it quickly morphs from a flirtatious little curiosity to a GRAND PASSION bordering on obsession. And we all know that the very best journeys are the ones we stumble upon accidentally. And after taking a few tentative steps we decide, against our own better judgement and the advice of the wise, to lose ourselves on the path. We know instinctively that we will find our way, eventually. And if we are lost...what a grand world to lose oneself in!

Besides, it's not really so much about where we end up, but what we are experiencing along the way. And if the last year is any indication....we're in for a long, fun, exhilarating, crazy, frustrating, tears on my pillow one night, heart bubbling with joy the next day, kind of ride!

And so - Away we go!

First, we should probably start in the beginning with a little of my own horse history:

When I was 6, my family was in Half Moon Bay one sunny fall day and I begged and begged to go on a pony ride. My thumb got caught up against the saddle horn with the rein and I screamed until the poor pony attendant could untangle me and help me off. It was horrible. Terrifying and embarrassing. But for whatever reason - that horrific ride set the wheels in motion and I just knew that I. Must. Have. A. Pony. And so the begging, wheedling and whining commenced.

Fast forward a couple years. My friend Linda and I went to grade school together and there was a pasture with two horses behind the schoolyard. We were probably 8 years old. When we weren't galloping around the playground pretending we were wild horses, we were stealing apples from the auditorium garbage cans after lunch and feeding them to the horses.


One day after school, we brought a few boxes of sugar cubes back to the pasture and started feeding them to the horses....the entire box! One for each horse. Smart, right?

We must have been eating them too because we got hopped up enough to think it was a good idea to dare each other to climb the fence and hop on. We had both read The Black Stallion series, and probably ever other horse book we could find, so we knew exactly what we were doing and how it was going to go, of course.

One horse took off at a gallop and the other one followed. They ran across the field, down a hill, jumped across a creek, then into the woods, zig zagging all over the place (and going under every low branch they could find!).  We hung on for dear life, sometimes with our arms flung around their necks, pressing ourselves as flat to their body as we could to avoid the lowest branches, hootin' and hollerin', terrified and thrilled at the same time! I remember feeling like I was one with this powerful, graceful (and very large) animal. There was nothing else like it, I was sure.

They finally galloped out of the woods and into a clearing, then hung a sharp right into the barn. We slid off their backs, shaking and laughing like crazy, and realized we were trapped in the barn because the house was right across the driveway and we didn't want to get caught! We weren't sure, but thought maybe you could get shot for riding someone's horse without permission.

Eventually we managed to sneak out of the barn and ran back down through the woods - VERY impressed with our horseback riding skills.

Of course we were hooked after that and spent many afternoons testing our bareback, bridle-less riding skills on two great beasts who looked for all kinds of ways to get us off their backs without actually harming us. That was how we learned to ride. We were very lucky to have survived it, yes we know.

We both got our first ponies within a year or two of that first wild ride.

No Harm, No Fowl

Two weeks! I've stuck with something for two weeks! That's gotta be a record.

I made the world's worst bacon wrapped chicken thighs (I know, right? How can something with bacon be bad?) but redeemed myself on game day with chicken wings.

We had company for the weekend and while I did make them suffer through a grainless/dairyless supper Saturday night, I decided I needed to at least offer bread - the staff of life - so I added a loaf of french bread to the menu. I also bought some cheese and crackers to serve. Of course it would be rude not to eat with our guests, so the weekend was sort of a mix of Paleo and crackers. I only gained one pound and I know that will come off this week, and then some.

Last night I made Spaghetti Squash Bolognese. It turned out really well!

I got a really nice ride in on Monday, just me and my horse, and now all is right with the world.

The Science of Obsession

I'll make this quick - gotta get to work!

10 days no grains/dairy (except my little indiscretions that I mentioned in a previous post). I'm down 6 pounds and feel fantastic!

I'm getting a little bit concerned though, because when I visualize myself eating a piece of bread, I see myself spontaneously combust. Like....literally. Explode. Hmmmmm....I'm beginning to think that I may be becoming obsessed with the no grain/dairy thing.

I did some "research" and read that up to 80% of the human population have some sort of gluten and/or dairy intolerance. It might actually be 60% or 40%? Who knows, who cares? I didn't get as far as the studies and such, and maybe there weren't any. I tend to skim these types of articles looking for important University names and Doctor titles to validate what I already believe to be true, and then promptly forget the sources, facts and figures as soon as my browser closes. But in the larger scheme of things, does it really matter? I'm relying pretty much solely on my "own experiences" and have decided that 100% of ME thinks that this is awesome. So that is the basis of my scientific "research", don't believe anything I say, or say I read for that matter...try it for yourself if you'd like to though!

So yes, I may have become slightly obsessed, because I'm a true believer!

I made THE best pesto shrimp & squash fettuccine, or as I like to call it "faux-ttucine".

Here's the recipe: (from Practical Paleo by Diane Sanfillippo) WARNING: This dish will make your husband/wife/partner/dog fall in love with you all over again. Use caution when clearing the dishes!

Ingredients:

2 dozen large shrimp
4 zucchini or yellow squash (I couldn't decide so I used two of each)
sea salt and black pepper to taste

Pesto: (make this first)
1/2 Cup macadamia nuts
1 bunch cilantro
1 clove garlic
1/2 Cup extra-virgin olive oil
sea salt and black pepper to taste
(combine all of the Pesto ingredients in a food processor & blend, ok? You're done!)

Use a vegetable peeler (or julienne peeler if you've got one!) to peel the squash down until you've reached the seeds. Steam the "pasta" for 3-5 minutes, set aside.

Steam the shrimp for 3-5 minutes - toss it all together and enjoy the pure awesomeness!
Enjoy!

RIP Sparky, and My Confessional

I've gone a whole week with no grains or dairy except for:

Three Wheat Thins at 2am Sunday morning (remember I mentioned a little soiree I was planning?). We were about ready to go to bed at a reasonable hour but then I discovered that our beloved bearded dragon, Sparky, had passed. I was crushed. So we had to spend the next several hours toasting her amazingly uneventful life, crying and hugging, and more toasting. Well... I was the only one crying. I really liked that dumb old lizard. Note to self: Overdoing it on the alcohol while not consuming grains is a very bad idea. And if you DO drink too much, three wheat thins are not going to save you. I still have a headache.

I also had a hand full of Ruffles potato chips on Sunday because I felt sorry for myself.

The one dairy I allow is a little half and half in my coffee each morning - I think it would be ridiculously cruel to give that up, so I won't.

But other than that...no grains or dairy! And other than the headache, I feel fabulous!

I really wish I could upload photos (I need to figure out why I can't!), because I would love to share photos of some of the dishes I've been making!

Saturday night's chicken wings and curried crispy sweet potato chips ("battered" in almond flour!) were awesome!

We had my mom, my nephew and sister in law over for dinner last night and the braised short ribs served over candied carrots with mashed faux-tatoes were a hit!

I'll see if I can fix the photo uploading issue. Meanwhile, I'm going to take another aspirin and get ready for work!

5 Days, I'm Winning!

I made it 5 days with no grains and no dairy! I shouldn't say I "made it", because that implies it was difficult. It wasn't. I haven't slept so well, heartburn free, in a long time. I also don't crave or miss anything. Maybe I really am "something" sensitive. Not sure what though, since I cut out a lot of food all at once. But it feels good. I have lots of energy and it's constant instead of the usual  highs and lows.

I'm also 5 pounds down, which is a nice bonus!

Rob told me that he can sense a change in my motivation this time, like the time I really quit smoking for good. That's a good sign. I'm hopeful! It doesn't hurt that I ordered an exorbitantly expensive saddle a size smaller than I should have. It's not like buying a pair of jeans that you're sure you'll get into "in a week or two" and then letting them sit in your closet.

My favorite food finds this week were a shrimp stuffed avocado (I ate an ENTIRE avocado smothered with chilled cooked shrimp and onion, drizzled with a little olive oil and red wine vinegar), and braised swiss chard in onion and apple juice, tossed with apple cider vinegar, sea salt and pine nuts. The chard was a great side dish to the Bobotie which is a favorite WW South African meat pie recipe. We both loved it!

Now it's the weekend and I've got a little entertaining to do! I'll see how I do with the no grain/dairy thing over the weekend and report back Monday! The Paleo plan is supposed to be 85/15, so I've got some wiggle room anyway.


Saturday night, I'm making chicken wings with aioli dipping sauce and crunchy curried sweet potato chips for a girl's get-together. Sunday night, we'll be having balsamic braised short ribs, candied carrots and mashed faux-tatoes (cauliflower) for a small dinner party I'm hosting.
News flash!

Lard is back!! (click here for an interesting article!)

My goal is to be a total lard-ass in 2013. And I mean that in a good way!

An Eater's Manifesto, and Other Stuff

I love Michael Pollan, and his book "In Defense of Food, An Eater's Manifesto" is one of my favorites. This past weekend made me want to revisit the book and get back into my cleaner, more responsible, eating habits.

I'm sort of doing the Paleo Diet now, but it really just feels like the lifestyle I enjoyed for a while a year or so ago before getting lazy and slipping back into old habits. Visiting the Butler ranch and gathering cows in the fresh air must have done something to me.

It's not going to be easy, which is probably why I got lazy after we moved. I had been going to a local meat market, a farmer's market and some specialty stores in Pleasanton to do all of our food shopping. It would take an entire half of a day to procure all the food we would need for the week. It was also slightly more expensive, required a lot more planning, and was challenging at times. But I remember the pay off....oh yes, I want that pay off! Now that my horse is just minutes from Pleasanton, I find myself shopping there anyway so..... (my current town just doesn't have the good food resources).

Another benefit; not only is it healthier, it's also more in line with my Buddhist values. I admit it, I'm a crappy Buddhist. I do eat meat. I'm an omnivore, I can't help it. But that's OK. You don't have to be a vegetarian to be a Buddhist. But you should try to have a more intimate relationship with your food. Know it, honor it. Hunt for it yourself if you can (which I can't. Unless I can count the endless research and driving around to specialty produce and meat markets, and asking the poor butcher a ton of questions, as "hunting"). Ok, yes I hunt for my food.

Now, the "other stuff":

I will be changing the name of my blog. I'm not exactly a "fitwife". I'm not in training for a marathon anymore. I'm not exercise or fitness obsessed, or "losing weight" obsessed (not to be confused with "diet obsessed" which I will always be because food is a passion; the study of it, the procuring of it, the preparing and cooking of it, the eating of it, you name it!).

Any ideas....?

Oh...one more thing. While I may not be "losing weight" obsessed, I did a bad thing. I ordered my custom saddle's seat a 1/2" smaller than the saddle maker recommended for my current "size". That was a fun conversation to have with an old cowboy!

Me: "Sooooo....a 15" seat now. I guess I should tell you that by the time the saddle is made, I will be at least 10-15 pounds lighter. I mean it. This is my year!"
Ron: Speechless, followed by laughter "You're gonna do what now?"
Me: "Yes, I've been meaning to lose the weight I gained when I quit smoking. For like 7 years now. But I'm really gonna do it this time."
Ron: "Ok, well, let's see. Um...how many pounds did you say?"
Me: "Maybe 20. But probably 10-15 for sure. Let's say 10, at a minimum."
Ron: "Well..huh...you'd be swimming in this seat if you lost 20...uh...10 or 15...hmmmm."
Me: "So, maybe just a 1/2" smaller since most likely it will be closer to 10 or 15 pounds? Would a 1/2" smaller be too small if I only lost 10 pounds?"
Ron: "Uhhhh...hmmmmm....well....uh....You know...."

And then we were treated to a very entertaining story about oatmeal.

Some habits die harder than others! But I have a year or so.....

Full Circle

In memory of #431

This was a weekend of many "firsts"; first time I trailered my horse several hours into the Sierra Nevada foothills, first time I drove through the central valley's infamous tulle fog, first time I met with a custom saddle maker to get my horse "fitted" for a saddle, first time I drove the trailer in the dark, in the rain, on windy roads, in cow country. First time I got to gather cows (more on that later!), and I loved it all.

I was looking for a saddle maker and Ron Butler came highly recommended. Especially because I want a classic "Visalia" style saddle, which is what the old California Vaqueros rode. I just love the simple, elegant style, the utilitarian quality, the beautiful craftsmanship and artistry...I can't explain how I feel when I look at them in old catalogs or if I happen to see one "live". They're just beautful. And it's what I want. I spoke to several saddle makers on the phone and through email and Ron (who happened to be the only one without email, a website, or advertising of any kind) was "the one". Now, I just had to get my horse up there for a fitting and to meet with him!

I've hosted a couple of horsemanship clinics and have had the pleasure of getting to know Stephanie, who lives in Jamestown, which happens to be the same town where Ron lives, so I thought I'd make a weekend of it! I needed a sidekick for this trip, and my friend Meghan (we board our horses at the same ranch), was the perfect road trip buddy (she knows Stephanie from the clinics too, crashed in her trailer at one, long story, won't tell it here!). We met at the ranch early Saturday morning, loaded my horse, threw our bags in the truck, and off we went! Our plan was to meet Stephanie at Ron's place, she would bring two horses, one for Meghan to ride, and we might get a trail ride in since the Butler ranch covers 1200 or so acres.

As we climbed into the foothills east of Manteca, we couldn't help but admire the natural beauty (between patches of fog), and it just kept getting better and better! We arrived at Ron Butler's ranch at about noon. Did I mention he's a master saddle maker and a cattle rancher? He and his son-in-law Russ were out gathering the cows, Stephanie wasn't there yet, so Meghan and I had the opportunity to meet and visit with his wife, daughter and grand kids, and got a tour of his shop.

Ron and Russ rode in not too long after we arrived, got the cows sorted and then came over to say hello. We walked over to his shop and for the next few hours we were treated to the most entertaining saddle education imaginable! My horse was a good sport, napping just outside the workshop door while we chatted and tried numerous saddle trees on her back (the tree is the "skeleton" of the saddle).

Not only is Ron a great saddle maker and artist, hand tooling each saddle with a variety of custom patterns including floral, acorn, and leaf, he is a story teller extraordinaire!  It seemed as if each story contained a hidden gem of cowboy wisdom, a funny anecdote, historical information, some local legend, and he even shared his secrets to staying slim (I'm not telling, but I'm trying it!).

The saddle itself will take a few months to make, but I'm on a waiting list so it will be about 1 1/2 to 2 years before I actually get my saddle. Ron loves the old Visalia style of saddle and not too many people are ordeirng them these days. I'm happy that it's a saddle he will enjoy making and other than the basic specs, I've given him full creative license. I'm married to an artist so I understand that if you want the best possible work, you have to let the master be inspired!

We realized it was getting a little late, and our prospects for riding were fading, but the visit was so enjoyable, we didn't mind. It was getting chilly, Stephanie had a pot roast in the crock pot, so we decided to load the horses and head back to her house. We were mid-way through our goodbyes when Russ pulled Ron aside to let him know that he had spotted the missing wild heifer way up on a hill. They quietly debated if there was enough day light to attempt to go bring her in, the rain would be coming soon. Stephanie mentioned that our horse's were already saddled and we'd be happy to help. They knew we had been hoping to do some riding, so that seemed to help make up Ron's mind, and off we rode! I just couldn't believe my luck.

This is an every day occurrence for a cattle rancher, but the three of us understood the honor it was to be invited to ride out on a special gathering mission. We were there to help, not get in the way. It was serious business, but we couldn't stop smiling!

We rode out and up. Up, up, up the hill. I was trying to use telepathy to tell my horse that this was serious, it's what she was made for, pay attention! But I guess she only heard "Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!!!" because she was a little "exuberant". She did ok though. She always kept one hoof on the ground when she decided it was all too much and had to "express herself" with the most sorry excuse for a bucking fit ever.

Ron is a great hand and gave me some tips. Every ride is an opportunity for training and even he had to get his horse's "head back" a little bit with some on the trail schooling (although I suspect he was doing this more for my benefit as my horse seemed to be the only one losing her head). They just get excited sometimes, this was all new for both of us. Maddie was more worried about where the other horses were than she was about the cows. But that's ok.

We found the heifer and she had a surprise! She had been hiding a calf. There were also a handful of other cows hanging out with her. We brought them all down and Maddie and I got to work the gate after a few escaped through the other end of the corral. We watched as all the cows were sorted into their appropriate pens, then we all filed out.

By this time it had gotten really cold and was almost dark. We said our good byes, thanked them for the afternoon and their hospitality and were on our way.

I couldn't help but think about one of my first blog entries from a few years ago. I was writing about a cow (a particular cow I met while hiking on the Pleasanton Ridge), wondering how it all worked, wanting to understand where my food came from and be more involved and responsible with my choices, wanting to support local ranchers. I had no idea at the time that one day soon I would be riding with one! It truly felt as I had come full circle.

Since I've gotten a horse, an entire world has opened up to me. I've met so many interesting people, have had so many wonderful experiences, and I'm just getting started. I've been invited to spend several days on another friend's cattle ranch come Spring. Better practice my roping....!

For some reason I can't post pictures, but here is the link to my Facebook album:

https://www.facebook.com/#!/media/set/?set=a.4719189251618.2177422.1051137441&type=1